Having our hair done at our favorite hair care salon is a luxury in this economy. Most of us have had to at least cut back on the number of visits we make to the hair care salon and learn how to do routine personal hair care ourselves.

That creates a whole new set of hair issues. People who have never wielded heated hair styling tools are now attempting to achieve the same look their hair stylist creates. and are ruining their hair in the process. For those of you who are first time users of heated hair styling tools, or for those who would just like to learn a better way of using them, here's the skinny on how to use heated hair styling tools for personal hair care.

Before you use any heated hair styling tool, coat your hair with a thermal protecting spray, serum or cream.

Start with a blow dryer. Heat damages hair, so the least amount of heat you can use, the better. When possible, allow your hair to air dry until it's barely damp before using a blow dryer. Use the nozzle attachment for your blow dryer to direct the heat where you want it. For added hair volume, bend over and blow dry your hair upside down, beginning at the hair roots and working your way to the hair ends. You can use the highest heat setting when drying the bottom half of your hair if you're in a hurry, then switch the medium or low heat setting for hair closest to your scalp, but the lowest heat setting is best for overall hair drying. Hold the blow dryer 8-10 inches away from your hair.

Your hair needs to be completely dry before using any other heated styling tools like curling irons or flat irons. These type of heated hair styling tools that come into direct contact with hair actually get hot to boil the water that is remaining in and on the hair's shaft, and you don't want to cook your hair, you just want to style it.

When you use a curling iron, hold the curling on in place for no longer than 3 second. Gently unwind the hot curl from the curling iron, then gently rewind it and loosely pin it into place with a large, metal clasp until it is completely cooled.

When using a flat iron, do small sections of your hair at a time and slowly pass the flat over the entire length of hair just once, beginning at the roots. Keep the flat iron moving across the hair and never hold it still. A slow pass one time will straightened and smooth out most hair types, but if your hair is very curly or coarse, it may take two passes with this heat hair styling tool to get the smooth results you want. Use the medium heat setting for straight or fine hair and a hotter setting for curly or coarse hair.